rob gross

Three of us tried to get into Legal's at Chestnut Hill tonight, but
when told of the 50 minute wait for a table, decided to go elsewhere.
I lobbied for Italian food in East Boston, but instead we decided to
try Smoken' Joe's BBQ (that unfortunate spelling is taken from my
receipt), a relatively new (open two months) BBQ place on Washington
Street in Brighton Center. (This is the former location of a good
Korean restaurant that never seemed to have any customers.)

There were 3 of us, so I got to taste enough of the menu to form an
opinion. The spare ribs struck me as a bit fatty, and falling more
off the bone than I would prefer; the person who ordered them loved
them, but also said that they weren't as good as Uncle Pete's (in
Revere). The owner of the Burnt Ends sandwich was pleased just to
find burnt ends on the menu; in my brief sample, they were good,
though perhaps not quite burnt enough and in a slightly too sweet
sauce. My pulled pork platter was very dry, but the vinegary sauce
delivered on the side made the meat very enjoyable to eat. Sides
included a very oily cole slaw (enjoyable if you like that style),
excellent collard greens, wonderful sweet potato fries, and very dry
corn bread. Beer was reasonably priced, as was wine (though beer is
really the right drink, of course).

I am not sure that this is better food than at Soulfire on Harvard
Street in Allston, but this restaurant had far more customers than I
have ever seen at Soulfire, and a larger menu. Now, if they would
just fix the spelling of the name...--Rob

--
Rob Gross (617) 552-3758
Department of Mathematics http://fmwww.bc.edu/gross/
Boston College gross@bc.edu
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3806